Molds: Asexual Stages of the Ascomycota and Deuteromycota

January 2012

This is a good example of what one of the ascomycetes might look like. There are lots of them. Have you ever had an orange or a lemon in your refrigerator that has been there too long and you noticed it has started to mold? Generally, that is caused by something like Penicillium. That is one of the organisms that belong to the Ascomycetes. And as you know, penicillin is produced by Penicillium, and by a particular species of Penicillium. Mold on this orange, you can see that it is a green kind of mold and it is Penicillium. If you look at it underneath a microscope, on the right-hand side you will see it has some pretty elaborate looking structures and at the very tip of what looks like a little bottle- like structure are the conidia. Those are the asexual spores that are produced by Penicillium, and those are the result of asexual reproduction.